Art of manufacturing tobacco for cigars



(No Model.)

H. PARIAS.

ART OF MANUFACTURING TOBAGOO FOR CIGARS.

. Patented Aug. 16, 1887 N4 PETERS. PholoLnhcgnphar, Wuhlngion, 04 c4 turn STATES ATENT Urrrcn.

HERAGLIO FARIAS, OF GUADALAJARA, JALISCO, MEXICO.

ART OF MANUFACTURlNG TOBACCO FOR ClGARS.

:BPECIPICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 868,464, dated August 16, 1887.

Application filed August "37, 1886. Serial No. 211.999. (No model.) Patented in Mexico July 24, 1884. and April 7,1886.

T0 aZZ 1072,0712, it may concern;

Be it known that I, HERAOLIO FARIAS, a citizen of the Republic of Mexico, residing at Guadalajara, in the county of Guadalajara and State of J alisco, Mexico, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in the Mannfacture of Tobacco for Cigars; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My invention relates to the manufacture of tobacco for cigars, and for which I have obtained Letters Patent in Mexico, dated July 24, 188i, and April 7, 1886.

In the manufacture of cigars in the ordinary way, in which leaves and parts of leaves, and sometimes stems, are rolled up longitudinally, the difficulty of free smoking frequently occurs by reason of the material being packed too tight, or, owing to a lack of uniformityin rolling orin the character of the tobacco-leaves, the burning away of one side faster than the other occurs. In the usual mode of making cigars a uniform fine quality of tobacco throughout the cigar is seldom found,unless in the most expensive kind; Again, in the manufacture of many cigars the leaves are too damp, or so greatly mixed with nicotine or other juices and mixtures as to render them soft or unwholesome to a very great degree. All of the above disadvantages and others exist most extensively in cigars of a cheap quality. To remedy these evils to some extent cigars have been made of cut or granulated smoking-tobacco. In such case, however, the operation of making the cigar cannot conveniently be performed by hand, but a machine of peculiar construction is required for the purpose. The granulated tobacco thus employed is not always free from the usual amount of heavy oils or nicotine. It is sharp and bitter to the taste. Moreover, it falls from the wrapper, fills the mouth, and burns irregularly. The same may be said as to what is known as fine-cut, when used for this purpose.

The process which constitutes my invention is as follows: After ascertaining the amount of nicotine contained in the tobacco to be worked upon, I wetthe leaves with distilled water mixed with a quantity of common salt and vinegar, in proportion to the amount of nicotine and deleterious oils in the tobacco. The leaves are then covered with a cloth and kept until they commence to ferment and the nicotine to stain the cloth, and the operation may be hastened by means of steam; but as this process is not enough for the purpose the leaves are afterward subjected to a pressure proportionate to the quantity of nicotine to be extracted. This process does not destroy the essential aromatic gum which gives to the tobacco its peculiar flavor. The leaves are then cutinto strings or filaments bya machine, dried in a shady place, and. worked into a kind of sponge. The result of the fermentation mentioned is to cause the acid or nitrogenous and ammoniacal gases of the tobacco to escape and the nicotine, which is an alkaloid, to be prccipitated. The cloth absorbs the nicotine precipitated, and for this purpose must be of-a very coarse and heavy texture, such as coarse woolen, tow, cotton canvas, or the like. The vinegar-andsalt solution serves to neutralize the nicotine remaining and to destroy its poisonous character. The action of the salt solution, also, is to render the tobacco moist and preserve its elasticity-to the better adapt it for transportation-and as thus prepared it is not brittle and is in better condition to be cut or sliced in shreds and retained in its spongy condition. The press used in the process is of a screw-and-platen form, and its purpose is to hasten elimination of the products of fer mentation and to compress the tobacco into theproper condition for transportation. Other forms of presses may be used for this purpose.

The product of my invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawing, which represents the tobacco reduced to a spongy entan gled condition, in which I employ the same in the manufacture of cigars.

In the drawing, A is the tobacco reduced to a fine, thick, spongy condition, which, while it is all held compactly together, is at the same time filled with interstices to give free ingress of air. It is preferably all of one quality, dry, and free from all liquid or gummy substances.

By myinvention the filler can be rolled and inclosed perfectly tight by hand by any one who knows how to roll a cigar. There is no falling away of the particles, but a compact mass is produced, showing a long white ash ICO of which the filler is to be composed, by subjecting the same to the action of water mixed with salt and vinegar, then inclosing the tobacco in a suitable coarse textile cover, fermenting it, subjecting the same to pressure, then cutting the tobacco into filaments, and finally drying the same and working it into a spongy condition, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I aifix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

HERAOLIO FARIAS.

"Witnesses:

J UAN YGNAOIO MATUTE, MARIANO NAVARRO, 

